March is one of my Favorite Months of the Year!
If you ski, there’s still good coverage on a lot of the trails. If you cycle, you’ll have more than a few sunny and not-too-cold days to saddle up and spin off a few miles.
And when the weather stinks …
… head indoors and get serious about that summer body!
Work begins right now on muscular development that you’ll appreciate when you lose those last few more pounds of body fat with increased Spring and Summer cardio work.
Pay particular attention to good form, proper positioning, and strict range of motion with your resistance training. The tone you create in March goes a long, long way towards how those limbs look in July!
In fact, one of the more common mistakes I see in the gyms is incomplete range of motion exercise.
People get too hung up on the volume of weights, and end up jerking and throwing the weight through a shortened range of motion. As a result, they do, in fact, develop shorter muscle fibers than the disciplined lifter who exercises good form.
It takes focus and some practice, but if you’re looking for a long, lean and toned muscular look, use smooth controlled muscle contractions, and be sure to keep good overall body posture throughout the exercise.
Trainers use the term Range of Motion, or ROM to describe how fully muscles and bones rotate around a specific joint. Complete ROM is your key to long, well defined muscle tissues. Allow the resistance to fully elongate the muscle fibers around the joint during the eccentric (recovery) part of the exercise, and completely contract the muscle fibers when shortening them (the concentric part). Not only does this tone and build tissue from tendon to tendon, but it also stimulates full fiber development up and down the muscle group to avoid ‘bulky’ looking muscles.
And breathe! Exhale when contracting muscle and inhale elongating.
So, Your Look Great This Summer Formula is Pretty Simple:
- Use Good Form and complete range of motion with your resistance work for the next 8 weeks
- Get get outside for extended periods of additional cardio in April and May to shed body fat fast
- When it’s time for shorts and sleeveless in June, the beautifully developed muscle groups and will emerge looking as good as the form you used to build it!
Unsure of your form and technique? I can probably (click) find you a trainer to suit your needs.
